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Friday, July 11, 2014

Review: Dollhouse by Anya Allyn

Dollhouse

(Dollhouse # 1)

By: Anya Allyn

Pub. Date: September 30, 2012

Publisher: Self

Pages: 373

Source: Netgalley

A dark, Gothic, Young Adult Horror.

Four teenagers chance across a mysterious, crumbling mansion in the depths of
the mountains....
- One of them is about to vanish.
- One of them is lying about what he or she knows.
- None of them will escape the fate awaiting them in the terrifying Dollhouse
beneath the old mansion--a place of nightmarish horrors and insanity.

A slow-burn nightmare, a world of supernatural darkness and strange secrets.

Six months ago, fifteen-year-old Cassie Claiborne reluctantly moved from her
home in Florida
with her social worker mom. In her new home--a remote, mountainous Australian
town, Cassie meets new friends--Aisha Dumaj, Ethan McAllister and Lacey
Dougherty.

For the first time, Cassie falls in love. The only problem is that the boy she
falls for is her friend, Ethan--and he and Aisha are already an item. When
Cassie goes on a school hike to Devils Hole with her new friends, she tries
desperately to keep her feelings for Ethan secret.

Aisha disappears on the hike without a trace--with the police believing she was
murdered.

When Cassie, Ethan and Lacey return to the mountains to search for
Aisha--Cassie begins to realize she never really knew any of her friends.
Everyone has their own secrets. She discovers the stranger lurking inside
everyone she thought she knew.

The darkest secret of all waits beneath the old mansion in the mountains--a
secret from which there is no escape....

I received this galley
from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One word: creepy. Dolls are creepy, extremely creepy. But
human dolls? Even worse. Cassie and her friends stumble upon a mansion in the
middle of the woods where they find kidnapped girls who are forced to dress and
act like dolls. I almost didn't finish this book. Not because I wasn't enjoying
it, but because of how disturbed I was. Dollhouse
is a fast read and if you like scary, thriller type books, then I
definitely recommend this one for you.

As much as I loved the story, I wasn't a huge fan of the characters.
I didn't feel connected to any of them, especially Cassie, the main character. I
actually couldn't stand Cassie. She was basically a bitch. Despite this, I
still felt their emotions. I felt Cassie's fear like it was my own, making this
story even more scarier for me.

The setting was described fantastically. I felt like I was
right there in the forest and in the "dollhouse" with them.